Official San Francisco: 10 things that represent the city (do you know them all?)

We all love our city, but as editors of this here San Francisco magazine, even we didn't know that SF had an official musical instrument.

In fact, there are several things that are official to the city, many of which have been part of our DNA forever. Read up and take notes—this may come in handy the next time you hit trivia night at Vinyl.

The city's official motto, Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra (Gold in Peace, Iron in War), is on the San Francisco flag. It's because of this saying that SF's official colors are gold and black (nor orange and black, as some of you Giants fans may think). The colors were so designated on March 2, 1979, but you could have already witnessed the city's dedication to the black and gold by looking at the dome of City Hall.